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Brenna Cohoon Athlete's Blog - September 18, 2019

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ILXCTF - Mike Newman   Sep 18th 2019, 1:00pm
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Blog #3 – Necessary Breaks

 

By Brenna Cohoon

 

Most cross country teams base their values solely around tradition and repetition.  In many ways, our team fits that generalization.  We want to be a team that trains well day after day and performs highly on a consistent basis.

 

However, in other ways, we like to change things up, explore new possibilities, and take positive risks.  Our schedule for this season includes a couple of drastic changes when compared to last year, and we could not be more excited.

 

To begin, rather than competing at the First to the Finish Invitational last weekend, we will be racing this weekend at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational, otherwise known as the Richard Spring Invitational.  Just a little further down the road, we will be travelling to Arizona for the Nike Desert Twilight Invitational instead of running at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minnesota.  

 

Since last week’s schedule did not include a meet, we had some incredible opportunities throughout the week to really push ourselves and focus on improving.  Very rarely do we have the chance to truly commit to our training for an entire week without worrying about it impacting our performance in a race.

 

We completed a variety of workouts throughout the week, including my favorite: mile repeats!  This workout used to be my least favorite as a freshman.  I made myself so anxious before running mile repeats that it was something I absolutely dreaded.  Thankfully, I have turned that mindset around and made 4x1 mile a much more fulfilling, confidence boosting experience.  

 

I definitely carried those more confident feelings with me on Friday.

 

My workout was right on pace for my first few reps, but once I was halfway through my final repeat, I let loose.  It felt so good to push myself this much and fully tap into the “pain cave,” as one of my coaches calls it.  I was feeding my mind positive thoughts the entire duration of the workout, trying to adjust some things I felt went awry in my first two races of the season.

 

The mile repeats workout ended up being an extremely successful session for the entire team, whether it was due to the full moon and the fact it was Friday the 13th, or all of the hard work we’ve been putting in training. Whatever the cause of our exciting workout was, we knew it was a good sign for the rest of the season.  

 

It’s the moments like Friday’s workout when the whole team is putting in a hard effort together that I get a chill travelling down my spine.  I know that we can accomplish some phenomenal things and cannot wait to see us harness that potential as the season continues.

 

It is also important for me to have moments of pure relaxation during the cross country season, whether that is with my teammates or just myself.  After Saturday’s long run at beautiful Waterfall Glen, I got to spend some quality time with my mom while shopping for my homecoming dress.  I think it is absolutely necessary to make time for those little things in life, because we all need some kind of a break at one point or another.

 

I used the rest of my weekend “off” to mentally prepare myself for our exciting season ahead.  With two of the most significant meets of the season coming up these next couple of weeks, it has been important for me to ensure that not only my mindset is in the right place, but my teammates’ are, as well.

 

In order to keep a pulse on everyone, we check in with each other every single day while at practice.  It isn’t just a way to make small talk; it’s a way to show we care about each other.  We need to all be supportive of each other and on the same page in order to accomplish all of our goals this season.

 

Life can get very stressful trying to juggle everything at once, as I have learned with balancing school, homework, running, and “college stuff” these last several weeks.  I keep myself grounded by relying on the people around me for support when I need it, as well as keeping everything in perspective.  I know that things can become a struggle, but I am grateful that I get to experience these challenges that are ultimately building my character and teaching me valuable lessons.

Photo Credit: ©2019 Laura Duffy

 

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